Whatever that means.

How the Pro-Vaccine Side Lost Me

When did it become okay to make fun of anyone? When as a society did we start to accept people making fun or belittling each other? It isn’t okay for children to bully each other at school nor is it okay for adults to bully, make fun of, or belittle each other through their Facebook account.

It does not matter if you love or hate vaccines. I was taught growing up if you do not have anything nice to say then you do not say anything at all. I am not anti-medicine, science, or vaccines. I am however very anti-bullying, making fun of people, and bashing others because they have a different opinion.

We are all parents trying to make the best decisions for our children. Parenting is hard enough the way it is without parents making fun of each other.

I know the vaccine issue is a hot topic right now, but I have seen so much belittling from the pro-vaccine camp lately that it has pushed me over the edge. I have been seeing people post the late show host video of him bashing anti-vaxers. I normally keep scrolling when someone posts something that I do not agree with, but it is people posting how funny and great they think the video is. I do not find it funny when someone ridicules or makes fun of people.

Most, but not all, of the parents who do not vaccinate fall into one of these categories:

1. Their child was vaccine injured, had severe reactions to the vaccines, or died from them.

2. They spent hours researching vaccines, package inserts, the history of these diseases, the side effects, and more to come to a conclusion to delay or to not vaccinate. According to the Journal of Pediatrics: “Unvaccinated children tended to be white, to have a mother who was married and had a college degree, to live in a household with an annual income exceeding $75, 000”.

Many of those who do not vaccinate either have experience with vaccine injury or have done their own homework. When you make fun of those who do not vaccinate you subsequently are making fun of vaccine injured children and their families along with people who are educated on the topic. And not everyone who chooses to not vaccinate is educated on the topic either.

To the parents who followed their doctor’s advice and your child had a bad reaction, was vaccine injured, or died from the vaccine; I apologize for every person who posts something hateful towards those who do not vaccinate on their Facebook page. I cannot imagine what you went through or are still going through every day.

Most Americans have very little knowledge concerning vaccines. They have most likely never read a package insert. They completely trust their doctor and the news media. It is unlikely that they have read a study or anything peer-reviewed concerning vaccines. They do not know that our government has paid 2.8 billion dollars to date for injuries due to vaccines that are safe and effective.

If I had not put in hours upon hours into researching vaccines myself I would probably feel the same way about those who choose not to vaccinate. After doing my homework, I respect the decision of other parents whatever it is that they decide. I am 100% pro-parents choice when it comes to vaccines.

Think it is okay to bash those who do not vaccinate? Spend some time listening to these stories and maybe you will feel a little different about ever making fun of these parents.

If you strongly believe in vaccines: I would encourage you to not bash, belittle, or make fun of those who oppose them. You will never change anyone’s mind with those tactics. Some parents are picking up the pieces every day from vaccine injury.

And there are probably people reading this thinking, “But these anti-vaxers are endangering all of us and deserve to be ridiculed”.

From the FDA’s website: “Animals that received an acellular pertussis vaccine had the bacteria in their airways for up to six weeks and were able to spread the infection to unvaccinated animals.” Link to the actual study: here

There is a risk of spreading these diseases to the immunocompromised by those who have been vaccinated with a live virus.

Moral of the Story: The vaccine debate is a hot topic and a lot of parents feel strongly about their beliefs. Parents can have differing beliefs on this topic, but it is never okay to ridicule or make fun of anyone on either side.

**Update 3/7/15** Thank you to those who have shared their personal stories either through the comments or by contacting me! Remember on each side of this debate are parents who ultimately want to protect their children.

The reason the 2004 cover-up was not reported, and why this topic is covered by the news in such a one-sided manner is because we’re watching Merck and GlaxoSmithKline television. How the general public fails to see this is beyond me. Something is happening to the intelligence of the people!

Thank you! I am one of those moms with a kid who had a reaction to vaccines, I do have a Bachelor of Science Degree, I am able think for myself. I appreciate this article! I am disgusted by all the mommy bloggers who use this issue to boost ratings, the same bloggers who have said they don’t like bullying and mommy wars. Ironic. I appreciate you!

Thank you for your comment, Linda! And thank you for sharing your story. My goal is to educate and empower parents to make a truly informed decision no matter what that is and to work towards protecting our rights as parents.

Whitney, I’m new here, but someone posted this article in a group I belong to. I appreciate it too.

Truthfully, I was feeling extremely discouraged today about this whole thing. I have a son who has sensitivities to many chemicals and have spent his 8 years trying to only put good things into his body. I’m one of those educated people you referred to who has spent years of my life researching this issue. And not just reading what someone else, be it a person or organization, but going over the scientific studies and statistics from the very organizations who push vaccines, like the CDC, and WHO, and I can tell you that there ARE real, significant studies that show a cause for concern, and more scientists and doctors who think so too, every day. And, I can also tell you that the CDC’s own statistics do not come close to supporting their own statements or views on this issue. Either they’re not really paying attention, or they’re lying.

Anyway, I have always made it a point not to argue about this issue with people because above all else, I believe in the freedom to make your own decisions, and that people shouldn’t have to defend their deeply held beliefs to anyone. But, lately, I’ve been drawn into arguments on blogs because of the vitriol aimed at antivaxxers. I saw in one blog, someone say “To all you antivaxxers, I hope your children die.” And, in response to a woman who very calmly told her story of how her child got the measles right after receiving the vaccine, a guy said “I hope your children get the measles and go blind.” And this was just ONE blog.

Then there’s Jimmy Kimmel and Whoopie Goldberg yelling at people who don’t vaccinate as if they’re horrible people. Whoopie actually said last week “do your homework, and vaccinate your DAMN kids!” And in response to email he got after his first attack on antivaxxers, Jimmy Kimmel said that people wrote to him asking him to present the other side of this too, to which he said he wouldn’t because it would be like presenting the view that pancakes cause you to be gay, and that “it’s just not true!” These shows are watched by a lot of people and this is just inciting more hatred. I spent hours in the last week or so compiling factual information to show some people on blogs that they don’t know all the facts. I don’t know if they don’t read it, or just don’t absorb it, but they just continue to say things like “but your child is putting everyone else at risk!” My child isn’t putting anyone at risk because he literally never even gets sick.

Anyway, I was feeling very discouraged and even depressed about it the last couple days. I was actually even looking into other countries that I could possibly move to if they DO in fact make vaccination mandatory. Maybe I’m just burned out or tired, but seeing how easy it is today for people to absolutely HATE you for having a different opinion, and worse yet, how the media and government organizations encourage that by suggesting that every “outbreak” is caused by the unvaccinated, is disheartening.

Thanks for being the voice of reason that I really needed to hear tonight….

Thank you for taking the time to write this. 3 out of our 4 kids struggle with issues brought about by the vaccinations. Social Media has not been a welcoming place. I normally get on Facebook to keep up with friends. But with the recent media attention it’s been very depressing, I fear for my job if I speak out, and I’ve lost friends because of my views.

Whitney – although I agree that bullying is never ok, I might have been more receptive to your points if you didn’t say that people who are pro-vaccine are ignorant and imply that they haven’t done their “homework” like you have.

Jackie- Thank you for your comment and I can see where you are coming from. Please let me explain myself a little better. I have found most, but not all, Americans do not have a lot of knowledge concerning vaccines. When I refer to knowledge I am talking about package insert information, risks associated with certain diseases, studies on vaccines, and the corporations who make them. The post was written about the people who have not done their research and belittle those who choose not to vaccinate. Thank you for giving me a chance to clarify as I would not want any parent to feel that I am bashing them. I support parent’s choice concerning vaccines on both sides.

Wonderful article! We haven’t yet come to a place of valuing what our forefather’s fought and died to establish: freedom. We can certainly choose to vaccinate if we believe in them. We need to also be free to decide that vaccines are not of benefit, and could be of risk to us. Since much of what the militant pro-vaxer’s perpetrate about vaccines is based in myth about how successful and safe vaccines are, a lot of misconceptions about what it means to not vaccinate exist.

I think there needs to be a 3rd category of people who are anti z vaccine: those who ate following a trend. I day this because they exist in every group, and that can’t be discounted here.
To be completely honest, I think both sides of this debate have become militant towards each other, and I’d like nothing more than for everyone to just shut up about it. This topic is like abortion, politics, religion, discipline, breastfeeding…you will not persuade the other side, no matter what you wrote/say or how eloquently you do so.
My $.02

You make a good point about persuading the other side! I think this is a topic that we are not going to get rid of any time soon, because of the legislation that is in the works. I wish it was a topic where parents could respect each others decision.

pixieangel, I’d just like to say that I know a lot of people who can’t vaccinate or who choose not to after much research, and none of them care to convince anyone else not to vaccinate. They just want to be left alone to do what they see as right by their child. But, when you are outnumbered and have major government and medical organizations trying to take your right to make that very personal decision away, and doctors berating you and even saying they won’t treat your child because of your viewpoints, then it’s not easy to remain quiet, and perhaps not even appropriate.

And there are a lot of provaccine people who are also speaking out against taking this right away because they realize that once you hand over your freedom on such a basic right as which medical procedures will be performed on you or your child, you open the door for them to take even more freedoms away. I hope the pro-vaccine people realize this because soon the government will be telling all of us what to do in many areas of our lives if we don’t hold onto freedom of choice. The thought of the government forcing needles into your children’s arms while mothers are trying to stop them, is not a picture I grew up ever thinking would be a part of modern America.

I’m one of the evidently rare moms who never vaxxed because I did my homework long before I even had children. I’ve been a student of the vaccine issue since my own childhood, because the question of vaccines always intrigued me. There is only one vaccine I would ever get (and would do so willingly), even though it is a live virus: rabies. And that’s because the risks of the vaccine cannot compare with the 100% fatality rate of rabies.

I am a mother of 6 children and have had them all vaccinated , I am so fed up of parents having to justify their decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate !! Life is for so much more than than who did what , who didn’t do what.As a parent there are so many decisions to make during your child’s life and not every parent is going to make the same choice , and that is ok. So stop challenging other people’s choices and start living a good happy one loving , laughing and enjoying your children they don’t stay children for long x

I am the mother of 2 children. One who has not been the same since his 6mth vaccinations and one who is free of all vaccines. The choice to not vaccinate my second child was based on the information I’ve gained after I messed up with my first child. Yes you heard me. I messed up. I was the one who agree to vaccinations with little knowledge about them, Every parent who has a “vaccin-injured” child has at one point blamed themselves. The choice not to vaccinate came easy to me and was made solid by the hundreds if not thousands of studies and medical literature out there. I had never sought out this information until vaccines affected my like through my son. This choice does not come easy to those who have a near religious belief that vaccines are a “god-like” medicine. It is understandable but it does not excuse bullying. I love that about your article, it highlights a huge factor that everyone seems to be missing. Daily I get bullied for not vaccinating, I am told things like; my child is a walking cesspool of disease, that I should be sent away to an isolated island with my children, that I should just let them play on the highway because by not following mainstream, I am a bad parent. I have read this for years now, despite my knowing that I am doing this for my children, so that they are not injured. I am told this daily, despite the fact that my unvaccinated daughter has never been sick a day in her life. I am told this while I struggle everyday to help my son who needs 24/7 care, while I stress to make sure he gets the life and health he deserves. I am one of thousands of parents going through this. Bullies do not care of our struggles, they hide in the fear that they are not making the right decision, their questioning of their beliefs cause them to lash out at us. This does not make it hurt any less when media, celebs and just regular people say these awful, cold hearted things.

So needless to say, your article deserves a profound THANK YOU! From the hearts of all those who have chosen to “stray from the norm” This was well written, informative and truly encouraging to all of us trying to tell our stories and let people know there actually is a choice existing here. I see this article popping up everywhere and it is truly well deserved.

I vaccinated my kids. I regret it. I believed in the principle and didn’t have enough solid information to resist vaccinating, although I never felt good about it. I was ON THE FENCE and always falling onto the ‘vaccinate’ side.

HOWEVER, the recent media storm, and all the shocking information that came with it; PLUS the deafening SILENCE from the pharmaceutical corporations; and the repeated media bullying of anyone who questioned the orthodoxy; and its refusal to question the orthodoxy itself (the media’s job above all else!), all made me rethink what was previously my uncomfortably held position.

There’s too much money and power behind vaccination globally to ignore the facts. I’m not someone who imagines conspiracies too often, but this one is too big to ignore or to spin in any other way. Private corporations legally indemnified for when (not IF) their products harm or kill babies and children. A semi-secret injuries/compensation court. It’s mind-boggling.

After everything I’ve read and heard from extremely credible sources over the past month, I’d be an idiot to not realize — took me long enough! — that my own son’s behavioural issues from toddlerhood very likely stemmed from the adjuncts/ preservatives/heavy metals of his vaccinations, and that we were extraordinarily lucky that his issues weren’t worse. My heart breaks for the families in the videos you collected. Thanks for your post. I would love to follow you if you’re on Twitter.

I am the mother of 2 children. One who has not been the same since his 6mth vaccinations and one who is free of all vaccines. The choice to not vaccinate my second child was based on the information I’ve gained after I messed up with my first child. Yes you heard me. I messed up. I was the one who agree to vaccinations with little knowledge about them, Every parent who has a “vaccin-injured” child has at one point blamed themselves. The choice not to vaccinate came easy to me and was made solid by the hundreds if not thousands of studies and medical literature out there. I had never sought out this information until vaccines affected my like through my son. This choice does not come easy to those who have a near religious belief that vaccines are a “god-like” medicine. It is understandable but it does not excuse bullying. I love that about your article, it highlights a huge factor that everyone seems to be missing. Daily I get bullied for not vaccinating, I am told things like; my child is a walking cesspool of disease, that I should be sent away to an isolated island with my children, that I should just let them play on the highway because by not following mainstream, I am a bad parent. I have read this for years now, despite my knowing that I am doing this for my children, so that they are not injured. I am told this daily, despite the fact that my unvaccinated daughter has never been sick a day in her life. I am told this while I struggle everyday to help my son who needs 24/7 care, while I stress to make sure he gets the life and health he deserves. I am one of thousands of parents going through this. Bullies do not care of our struggles, they hide in the fear that they are not making the right decision, their questioning of their beliefs cause them to lash out at us. This does not make it hurt any less when media, celebs and just regular people say these awful, cold hearted things.

So needless to say, your article deserves a profound THANK YOU! From the hearts of all those who have chosen to “stray from the norm” This was well written, informative and truly encouraging to all of us trying to tell our stories and let people know there actually is a choice existing here. I see this article popping up everywhere and it is truly well deserved.

Great post! My child had adverse reactions to vaccines at 4 months old and if it weren’t for that I may have never researched and found the truth. He suffers in a few areas that I know are directly related to the vaccines he received. My second child is vaccine free and the healthiest little happy thriving girl I know. Much healthier and happier than her brother who was vaccine injured.

Thank you for this article. I fall into the camp of having one child that was vaccinated and a second that wasn’t. My first child had reactions to several of his vaccines, but unfortunately it wasn’t until after the fact that I put it all together. He broke out into miserable full-body eczema immediately after his 6 month vaccinations. The pediatrician told me it was NOT the vaccines, but probably the organic rice cereal I had started him on at the same time. So I stopped the rice cereal until the eczema went away a few weeks later. When I tried it again, there was no reaction this time. How ODD. “Oh, sometimes kids just get eczema,” the pediatrician said.

When he had his MMR, he got the measles. Broke out into a full-body rash, ran a high fever and was miserable for several days. At the very same time, he also began having what we called “volcanic” diapers. His poops would explode and bubble out the top and legs of his diaper. It was HORRIBLE. We couldn’t step out of the house with him unless we had a full change of clothes, plastic bags, a box of wipes and a stack of diapers with us.

Within a couple of weeks after his MMR, he also developed bad eczema on his cheeks that wouldn’t go away. We struggled with the eczema and volcanic poops for over a year until he was eventually diagnosed with Celiac disease. When we cut gluten out of his diet, the eczema disappeared within 48 hours. When the volcanic diapers didn’t go away, I decided to also cut out dairy. When we removed dairy, the horrible poops stopped instantly. So Celiac disease and dairy allergy immediately following MMR vaccine. “Just a coincidence,” the pediatrician said.

I was a serious shutterbug with my first child. I took photos daily and incessantly. I can go back and so clearly see the progression and the connection in the photos. I have photos of him the day before he got his 6 month vaccines. I have photos of him five days later miserable and COVERED in eczema. I have photos of him smiling and happy a couple of days before his MMR, then a photo of him all blotchy and crying in his little pool outside two weeks later. And a “funny” photo of my husband holding him up in the bathroom with poop running down his legs and coming out the top of his diaper. Oh, how we laughed at that…until it happened over and over and over and over. Then I have photos of him a month later with bright red, itchy cheeks and dark circles under his eyes…and he has them in every photo after that for a year.

They say that vaccines are the leading cause of coincidence in this country. And after years of my own research, I believe it. That’s why my second child has not been vaccinated…and that’s why he never had volcanic poops or eczema or allergies or an autoimmune disorder. That’s why he almost never gets sick, and when he does, he’s over it in a single day. He did get the chicken pox a few months ago and it was such a mild case that they almost overlooked it. But we’ll take a mild case of chicken pox with a lifetime of immunity over a life of living with an auto-immune disorder and food allergies…and all the other more serious complications that can and DO come with vaccines.

And you can call me whatever you want. It literally rolls off my back. My first responsibility is to my children and their health and not what any TV personality thinks of me. I am a Momma Bear, and so are we all–we victims of vaccine-induced “coincidence”. And that’s why the vaccine debate is NOT over and why it won’t go away…because we will never stop fighting for our children. Our motivation is not corporate greed or misinformed fear. Our motivation is our own personal experience and the love and fierce protective instinct we have for our children. So hold onto your butts because we will NOT sit down and shut up. This will be a battle to end all battles.

With the amount of information around now, there really is no excuse for people not educating themselves on this topic. If I had my time again – (my eldest child is almost 24) I would NOT vaccinate my children. My youngest who is almost 19 was vac-injured. I, like most parents at the time just automatically trusted the doctors and the government. I do not now. Since Google, it has been so much easier to research. There is more and more information everyday. Did you know that doctors and whistle blowers from pharmaceutical companies are now coming out with truth about these chemicals?http://vaccineimpact.com/2014/doctors-against-vaccines-the-other-side-of-the-story-is-not-being-told/

Knowing what I know, If I had my kids now, I would not vaccinate. I would prefer to make sure my kids’ immune systems were as healthy as possible so IF they contracted any of these diseases, their bodies would be capable of protecting them. Once a vaccine goes in, you cannot get it out, it’s like playing Russian roulette with your childs’ life. Whereas life happens, if my child contracted an illness naturally, we’d deal with it.

Imagine, dealing with an illness for a couple of weeks, not nice, child sick, time off work…but after the fact, it’s all back to normal and life goes on. It is VERY rare that any of the childhood illnesses kill or have lasting affects – except giving life-long natural immunity.

Imagine, 2-3 weeks after your child’s immunisation, your child is unwell and has a seizure. You rush her to the emergency. 2 days later you go home. Three weeks later, your child, whilst learning to walk falls on a tiled floor – because of another seizure…off to emergency. Two months later, your child falls again, and this time you saw the seizure, you know WITHOUT A DOUBT that something is going on. Over the next three, yes THREE years, your child has EEG’s, MRI’s CT scans, xrays, lumbar puncture and is now on permanent medications. It’s hard to regulate medications in a growing child, so by the time she turns 5-6 she is on 3 meds to keep the seizures at bay.
Meanwhile, through all of this you are raising 2 older children, going through a divorce and fighting the education dept because your child needs extra assistance at school. Your child, you see, has brain damage as a result of the seizures, her development has been very delayed – previously, before the MMR at 1 year old, it was normal. All of this – and much more happened to me and my family. Now, as I write this, my daughter is almost 19, functioning around a 7 year old level. I am on a carers pension, cannot work full time, have limited freedom as she will always need care and never be independent. Whilst I am one of the lucky ones, she can walk and talk, feed and clothe herself, there are so many other families that have so much more to deal with – seizures daily – no matter how many meds they are on, children who cannot walk, talk or feed themselves. Those that have stomach buttons for a feeding tube.

Spend some time with these children and families and then do some more research.
For wayyyy too many families, life is not ever normal again after a reaction to vaccination. Please please, do your homework and be strong enough to resist.

I agree with everything you have to say, but in this statement: “From the FDA’s website: ‘Animals that received an acellular pertussis vaccine had the bacteria in their airways for up to six weeks and were able to spread the infection to unvaccinated animals,'” it should include that these animals were deliberately exposed to live pertussis, post vaccination. They are not carrying the vaccine strain. There’s a common misconception that the pertussis vaccine sheds. It does not. It was the live pertussis that the animals were challenged with that sheds.

That link is about Varicella which is chicken pox, not pertussis. The infant had 30 chicken pox lesions so it was fully infected. Yes, infected people can transmit disease. People without chicken pox lesions cannot. This is not “shedding”, it’s infection.

It’s interesting, this is an article about people being “Bullies”. I post about how your new item #1 does not reflect the actual science and it was moderated out. I didn’t know the author was one of the bullies.
Bye forever.

Oops, my bad. I know the difference between pertussis and varicella. But, I wanted to point out that live vaccines DO shed. And the PubMed link says, “A 12-month-old healthy boy had approximately 30 vesicular skin lesions 24 days after receiving varicella vaccine.” And also, “This case documents transmission of varicella-vaccine virus from a healthy 12-month-old infant to his pregnant mother.” So, it is talking about varicella-vaccine virus.

bravo! very tired of being bullied on facebook. I finally started blocking people from my feed after seeing a post that read “those aren’t parents, they are monsters”. 😦 All I could think was, “how many hours did YOU spend reading medicine packaging, clinicals, articles and soliciting opinions from varying sides of the issue including the sides you don’t want to listen to but need to listen to?” sigh. If you had told me 25 years ago I would have unvaccinated children I would have laughed you silly. Then I met the kids, did the research, had the kid, had problems. Yep, my kids aren’t fully vaccinated. Yes, when my kid exhibits any symptoms of ANY illness (vaccine related or not) they stay home – just like was done back in the ’60’s. I am not a monster. I am a mom who will do whatever I can to keep my kids AND my community safe. Thanks for the support!